Group Executive Management

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) is in charge of the day-to-day management of the Telenor Group. The Group Executive Management consists of heads of key business areas and functions at Telenor.

Jon Fredrik Baksaas

President and Chief Executive
Officer (CEO)

Appointed: 21 June 2002

Stocks: 237,342 as of 17 February 2015

Background: Mr. Jon Fredrik Baksaas has been President and CEO of Telenor Group since June 2002. Prior to becoming the President and CEO, Baksaas served as Telenor’s Deputy CEO, CFO and Executive Vice President with the overall responsibility for Telenor’s networks and communication services in Norway, one of the world’s most advanced countries in ICT usage. Before joining Telenor in 1989, he served as CFO in Aker AS, CFO in Stolt-Nielsen Seaway and held finance related positions in Det Norske Veritas (DNV) in Norway and Japan. Baksaas is chairman of GSMA (association representing the interests of mobile operators worldwide), a board member of Svenska Handelsbanken AB and the Advisory Council of Det Norske Veritas (DNV).

Education: Mr. Baksaas holds a Master of Science degree from the Norwegian School of Economics and Business Administration and has additional qualifications from IMD in Lausanne, Switzerland.

Richard Olav Aa

Executive Vice President and
Chief Financial Officer (CFO)

Appointed: 1 March 2010

Stocks: 37,089 as of 17 February 2015

Background: Before taking up the position as CFO in Telenor Group, Aa served as Investment Director of Arendals Fossekompani ASA, a listed electrical utility and investment company. He has held various management positions in the metals and energy company Elkem, both in Norway and the USA, including the position as CFO of Elkem (1999 to 2005, when the company was listed). He has also been Managing Director of the listed investment company Norsk Vekst ASA (2005 to 2007) and Executive Vice President for business development in Bertel O. Steen AS (1997 to 1999).

Education: Master of Science in Business and Economics from the Norwegian School of Economics and Business Administration in Bergen, specializing in strategies and finance.

Sigve Brekke

Executive Vice President and
Head of the Telenor Asia
operations

Appointed: 1 September 2008

Stocks: 105,287 as of 17 February 2015

Background: Mr. Brekke joined the Telenor Singapore office in 1999 as Manager Business Development and later Managing Director. Mr Brekke served as co-Chief Executive Officer of dtac from 2002 to 2005, and Chief Executive Officer in dtac from 2005-2008. Prior to joining Telenor, Mr. Brekke has served as the Deputy Minister (State Secretary) of Defence in Norway in 1993, and has also held position as an associate research fellow at John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University in the USA.

Education: Master of Public Administration, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University.

Kjell-Morten
Johnsen

Executive Vice President and
Head of Telenor’s European
operations

Appointed: 11 May 2012

Stocks: 52,075 as of 17 February 2015

Background: Kjell-Morten Johnsen comes from the position as CEO of Telenor Serbia, a position he held for three years. Johnsen serves as a member of the Board of Directors of VimpelCom Ltd as of June 2011 and at OJSC VimpelCom (Russia) as of June 2007. While working in Serbia, Kjell Johnsen served as the President of the Foreign Investors Council of Serbia from December 2009 to December 2011. Prior to moving to Serbia, Kjell-Morten Johnsen has held a number of senior positions in Telenor, including Senior Vice President of Telenor Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) and Head of Telenor Russia. Until February 2008 he was Member of the Board of Directors of Golden Telecom.

Education: MBA in Strategic Management from the Norwegian School of Economics and Business Administration in cooperation with HEC, France.

Henrik Clausen

Executive Vice President
and Head of Digital and Strategy

Appointed: 15 June 2014

Stocks: 26,164 as of 17 February 2015.

Background: Henrik served as DiGi’s Chief Executive Officer from 2010 – 2014. Previously, he was CEO of Telenor Denmark, a position he held since 2005. Prior to that, he was CEO of Cybercity, Denmark’s second largest fixed Broadband and ISP provider. Throughout his career, he has also worked in IBM, AT Kearney and Accenture, where he was a partner.

Education: Master of Science in Civil Engineering from the Technical University of Denmark, a Bachelor of International Business from the Copenhagen Business School, and a Master of Business Administration from INSEAD.

Hilde M. Tonne

Executive Vice President and
Head of Group Industrial
Development

Appointed: 14 September 2011

Stocks: 29,908 as of 17 February 2015

Background: Tonne came to Telenor in 2007 from Norsk Hydro Oil & Energy, where she was head of Technology & Research. In Telenor she has served as Deputy Head of Telenor’s operations in Asia in 2010-2011 and as EVP Communications and CR prior to that. Hilde Tonne served in several managerial positions in Hydro from 2000-2007, and up until 1999 she held various positions in Saga Petroleum. She is currently on the Board of DnV GL, and she has earlier served on the Board of Statkraft ASA and Gassnova AS.

Education: Master of Science from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Norway and from RWTH Aachen, Germany.

Berit Svendsen

Executive Vice President and
Head of Telenor Norway

Appointed: 14 September 2011

Stocks: 31,750 as of 17 February 2015

Background: Svendsen joined Telenor in 1988 as a Research Scientist. From 2000 to 2005 she was Executive Vice President and CTO of Telenor and also working Chair of Telenor R&D. In January 2005 she took up the position as Vice President and Head of Telenor Nordic Fixed with overall responsibility for the fixed network business in Norway. From 2002 to 2007 Berit Svendsen was a member of the European Commission / IST Advisory Group. She joined Conax as CEO in May 2008. Svendsen is currently a board member of DNB and Bisnode.

Education: Berit Svendsen holds an MSc in Electronics from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) (1988), and a Master of Technology Management from NTNU and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA (1995).

Jon Erik Haug

Executive Vice President and
Head of Group People
Development

Appointed: 1 November 2012

Stocks: 24,012 as of 17 February 2015

Background: Haug has been in Telenor Group since 1997 and has held a number of senior positions in Norway and Sweden. Prior to his current position, Jon Erik Haug was CEO of Telenor Denmark since 2010.

Education: MBA from IMD (International Institute for Management Development) in Lausanne and a Master of General Business from the Norwegian Business School, BI.

Pål Wien Espen

Executive Vice President
and Head of Legal Affairs

Appointed: 16 May 2014

Stocks: 46,310 as of 17 February 2015

Background: Pål Wien Espen joined Telenor’s Group Legal department in 1995 and has held the Group General Counsel role since 2000. Before joining Telenor, he was an associate at the Norwegian Law firm BAHR, and an assistant judge in the first instance court in Lillestrøm, Norway.

Education: Pål Wien Espen has a Law Degree from the University of Oslo (UiO). He has also completed an Internal Management Programme in cooperation with INSEAD.

Katja Christina Nordgaard

Executive Vice President
and Head of Corporate
Affairs

Appointed: August 4, 2014

Stocks: 480 as of 17 February 2015

Background: Prior to joining Telenor in 2014, Katja Nordgaard served as the Norwegian Ambassador to Thailand and Cambodia. From 2010 to 2013, she additionally served as the Norwegian Ambassador to Myanmar. She joined the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1988, and has held various senior positions within the Foreign Service as well as in the private sector during her career.

Education: Katja Nordgaard has a Master in Business Administration from the Norwegian School of Economics (NHH).